Air transport device for plastic vessels equipped with a projecting collar

ABSTRACT

The invention refers to the field of air transport systems for plastic vessels equipped with a projecting collar, and in particular refers to a device equipped with guides ( 10 ) and ( 11 ) for the vessel body ( 2 ) that provide for adjusting means ( 18 ) of the vertical guide position with respect to a sliding lane of the bottle collar and adjusting means ( 19 ) of the horizontal guide position with respect to the vertical vessel axis. The adjusting means can be simultaneously driven through a processor in which characteristic dimensional data of various vessels are entered.

The present invention deals with an air transport device for plasticvessels equipped with a projecting collar.

As known, the transport of plastic vessels equipped with a collarprojecting from the bottle neck can be performed by means of airtransport devices.

In this type of devices, see for example patent IT 1308585 of the sameApplicant, the vessel is supported below the collar by two driving barsthat create a sliding lane along which the vessel is pushed by air jetsproduced by fans arranged along the transfer path of the vesselsthemselves.

Below the sliding lane, vessel body guides are provided, assembled ontothe same lane supporting structure, and whose development issubstantially parallel to the vessel transfer path.

Purpose of said guides, a left one and a right one with respect to thevertical vessel axis, is avoiding the transverse oscillation of thevessel and keeping it vertical, such condition being mandatory forpreventing the transport device from jamming.

It is obvious that the vertical guides position, with respect to thesliding lane, will depend on the vessel height, while the distance fromthe right guide with respect to the left guide will depend on the vesseldiameter or on one of the transverse sizes in case of a vessel with adifferent section from the circular one or with an asymmetrical sectionwith respect to the vertical axis.

Said air transport devices are mainly used to supply filling machinesthat are adapted to fill different types of vessels with differentcapacities and different shapes.

The guides must therefore be supported by means that allow approachingthem or moving them apart, and also changing their position or distancefrom the sliding lane.

Every time the vessel or bottle format changes, it is thereforenecessary to move the guides, such operation being currently performedmanually by loosening and tightening some clamps.

In order to obviate the manual adjusting operation that requires quite along time and therefore several machine stop hours, obviously dependingon the transport path length, along the path many guides have beeninserted, arranged at different heights and that can be horizontallymoved through pneumatic actuators that take the guides to reachpre-established positions.

With the above-described arrangement, only the guides that can operateon the vessel body at a certain height of the vessel body itself areactuated.

The system of adopting a plurality of guides and actuate only thoseguides that are affected by such determined vessel format, in additionto be highly costly, allows a fixed and constant adjustment withhorizontal guides movements of a pre-established and constant length

Shortly, with the known art, it is not possible to perform fine andvariable adjustments depending on the vessels format change.

The known art allows performing adjustments for a number of formats thatis limited, for example, to a maximum of two or three formats.

Another known system provides for oscillating the guides supporting barsin order to change their position with respect to the vertical slidingaxis.

This system too has the same inconveniences of the previously-describedprior art; moreover, in case of further additions for transportingvessels with different formats, it is often necessary to add asupplementary guide on the whole path with difficult access andregistration, etc.

Object of the present invention is being able to automatically performguides position adjustments depending on the vessel format to betransported, by further adopting only one guide for every vessel side,consequently reducing the air transport costs and practically doingwithout the machine stops for adapting the guides position depending onthe vessel format.

A further object is making the transport device more accessible forpossible checks and for its ordinary maintenance.

A further object is performing adjustments that allow adapting theguides for an unlimited number of vessel or bottle shapes both withsymmetrical and with asymmetrical sections

Said object is filly reached by the air transport device for plasticvessels equipped with a projecting collar, object of the presentinvention, that is characterised by what is provided in thebelow-mentioned claims, and in particular in that it provides

This and other features will be better pointed out by the followingdescription of a preferred embodiment shown, merely as a non-limitingexample, in the enclosed table of drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows the device according to a cross section on differentplanes;

FIG. 2 shows a part of the device according to section A-A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a further part according to section B-B in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows the device in the same view as of FIG. 1 with the guide barposition adjusted for smaller vessels.

With reference to FIG. 1, reference 1 globally points out an airtransport device for vessels 2, particularly plastic bottles, equippedwith a collar 3.

The above device comprises a supporting structure 4 realised through aframe that develops along the whole transfer path of the vesselsthemselves.

A lane 5 is secured onto the supporting structure 4, such laneinteracting with the vessels collar 3, defining the transfer path. Thelane 5 is realised through a bent sheet that creates a slit in which theneck is inserted for vessels whose bodies project under the lane.

Above the lane 5 a closure element 6, shaped as a reverse “U”, isprovided. The device 1 is further equipped with means for pushing thevessels along their transfer path.

Said means, of a known type and not described in detail herein, areoperatively associated with the supporting structure 4 and, in thiscase, are made of a plurality of fans arranged along the transfer pathin a number that changes depending on the power of every fan andtherefore on the thrust they manage to exert onto the vessel itself

What is defined as an air transport is thereby realised, that, in thearea in which the vessel body travels, provides for at least two guidingbars 10 and 11 respectively placed on the right side and on the leftside of the vessel.

Each guiding bar is supported by clamps 12 each one of which is integralwith an horizontal threaded bar 13 sliding in a supporting block 14 inturn sliding along a vertical threaded bar 15.

A ratio-motor 16 is housed on the supporting block 14 and meshes withthe horizontal threaded bar in order to rotatingly drag it and thereforeto horizontally move the guiding bar, moving it away or near thevertical axis 9.

The vertical threaded bar 15 is rotated by a ratio-motor 17 connected tothe bar through a joint 21 .

The ratio-motor 17 supply lowers or lifts the guiding bar 11.

Every guiding bar therefore provides for adjusting means 18 for itsvertical position and for horizontal adjusting means 19 for itshorizontal position. The adjusting means 19 for the horizontal movementcan simultaneously intervene or not and perform different movements incase of vessels with asymmetrical section with respect to the verticalvessel axis, and also the vertical adjusting means 19 can simultaneouslyor separately intervene in order to perform equal or differentmovements; in fact, for vessels with the same capacity, differentguiding bar positions can be necessary depending on the position ofcatching recesses or asymmetrical grooves.

According to a possible variation, not shown, for the vertical movement,a single ratio-motor could be used, and in such case the two verticalthreaded bars will be connected from below through one horizontal shaftand two bevel gear pairs.

The channel where the bottle bodies slide is closed from below by agasket 20 made of soft material in order not to create damages tooperators passing near the transport device. The ratio-motors thatperform the movements are supplied through a processor in whichdimensional characteristics of the vessel are entered, and, depending onsaid characteristics, there will be an automatic intervention of allmovement means arranged along the transport trajectory.

Preferably but not exclusively, two pairs of horizontal positioningmeans and two pairs of vertical positioning means will be arranged every1-2 meters.

Every clamp 12 can support even two or more guiding bars in case ofparticularly high vessels or of vessels with particular outlines.

With the above-described device it is possible to carry out thesimultaneous handling of all adjusting means inserted along thetransport trajectory and therefore to adjust in a few seconds theposition of the two or more guiding bars depending on the vessel sizes.

The adjusting means allows continuous and micrometric adjustments. Theabove-described air transport can be driven in sectors and thereforeevery sector will have its own control card.

1. Air transport device for plastic vessels equipped with a projectingcollar and equipped with a sliding lane (5) that enters below the vesselcollar and with guides (10) and (11) of the vessel body (2) placed in asliding recess of said body, characterised in that it provides adjustingmeans (18) of the vertical guide position with respect to the slidinglane and adjusting means (19) of the horizontal guide position withrespect to the vertical vessel axis or the sliding lane, said meansbeing able to be simultaneously driven through a processor in whichcharacteristic dimensional data of the various vessels to be transportedare entered.
 2. Air transport device according to claim 1, characterisedin that it provides adjusting means (19) of the horizontal position ofthe guides (10) and (11) each one of which comprises a ratio-motor (16)meshing with an horizontal threaded bar (13) at one of whose ends aguide securing clamp is fixed, said adjusting means being supported by ablock (14) that can translate vertically.
 3. Air transport deviceaccording to claim 1, characterised in that it provides adjusting means(18) of the vertical position of the guides (10) and (11) comprising atleast one ratio-motor (17) that rotates a vertical threaded bar (15)passing through the supporting block (14).
 4. Air transport deviceaccording to claim 1, characterised in that it provides adjusting meansfor the vertical position comprising a single ratio-motor (17) foradjusting the vertical position of both guides, the two verticalthreaded bars being connected through an horizontal shaft and two bevelgear pairs.
 5. Air transport device according to clam 1, characterisedin that it comprises a gasket (20) made of soft material that closes thechannel in which the vessel bodies slide.